Discovery And FuboTV Set Carriage Deal, Adding More Networks To Streaming Bundle

Discovery and FuboTV have announced a new, multi-year carriage agreement that will bring 13 Discovery networks to Fubo’s streaming service in the coming weeks.

The deal extends the relationship between the companies that dates back before the 2018 acquisition of Scripps Networks Interactive by Discovery. The prior arrangement included carriage of Scripps’ five networks, including HGTV and Food Network.

While it is smaller than rival “virtual MVPDs” such as Sling TV, DirecTV Now, Hulu and YouTube, Fubo has posted steady growth since its 2015 launch. Since completing a carriage deal with YouTube TV last April, Discovery has boasted about having its networks available via all major “skinny bundles,” often a disproportionate number of the total (20% of the total AT&T Watch offering, for example). Given the growth in the skinny space compared with the eroding world of linear TV subscriptions, the company views it as an important hedge against further pay-TV declines.

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“Our partners at FuboTV are building a unique programming service, and we are pleased to bring more of our portfolio of real-life passion brands and programs to their subscribers,” Discovery president of affiliate distribution Eric Phillips said. “This agreement further exemplifies the viewer affinity for our beloved brands and talent, and fuboTV’s commitment to offering high-quality, world-class content to customers.”

The deal also encompasses on-demand Discovery content, bringing fuboTV’s VOD library to more than 60,000 movies and TV episodes per month.

“Today’s content agreement broadens the strategic relationship between Discovery and fuboTV that began almost two years ago with the former Scripps Networks,” Fubo CFO Joel Armijo said. “We are excited to be adding more Discovery brands alongside their lifestyle networks, which we already carry. These brands, including HGTV and Food Network, are among our top performing entertainment networks, and this agreement allows us to extend our partnership for years to come. We expect to be similarly successful with our new Discovery networks.”